Media streaming using a headless browser

Abstract

A method includes receiving an input media stream at a hardware encoder. The method also includes executing, at a processor of the hardware encoder, a headless browser to retrieve an instance of a dynamic web page that includes additional content. The method also includes storing the additional content at a memory that is accessible to the processor and encoding circuitry of the hardware encoder. The method further includes retrieving, at the encoding circuitry, the additional content from the memory and encoding the input media stream to generate an output media stream. At least one frame of the output media stream includes at least a portion of the additional content in conjunction with at least a portion of a corresponding frame of the input media stream.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An apparatus comprising:
 an input configured to receive an input data stream; 
 a processor coupled to a memory, the processor configured to execute a headless browser, access an instance of a dynamic web page that includes content, and store the content at the memory; and 
 a coder configured to encode the input data stream and to generate an output data stream based on at least a portion of the content and based on at least a portion of the input data stream. 
 
     
     
       2. The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a network interface coupled to the coder, the network interface configured to transmit media data of the output data stream to a publishing destination. 
     
     
       3. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to provide a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the dynamic web page to the headless browser to retrieve the instance of the dynamic web page. 
     
     
       4. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the instance of the dynamic web page comprises a transparent portion. 
     
     
       5. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the portion of the input data stream includes a frame associated with input media, and 
 at least one of the instance of the dynamic web page or the frame comprises a green screen background. 
 
     
     
       6. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the content includes additional content that is controlled by a web application. 
     
     
       7. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the content comprises at least one of an overlay graphic, a title, or social interaction feedback. 
     
     
       8. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the content is based on content associated with an input media stream. 
     
     
       9. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the content includes additional content, and 
 when the additional content is stored at the memory, the additional content is file locked. 
 
     
     
       10. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein, when the content is stored at the memory, the content is semaphore locked. 
     
     
       11. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the coder includes encoding circuitry configured to continue encoding the input data stream without particular content in response to a determination that the particular content is unavailable at the memory. 
     
     
       12. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the instance of the dynamic web page corresponds to a semitransparent image that is overlaid on top of content associated with the input data stream using alpha blending. 
     
     
       13. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the instance of the dynamic web page corresponds to at least one image that is overlaid on top of content associated with the input data stream using an offset value. 
     
     
       14. A method comprising:
 executing, at a processor of a coder, a headless browser to access an instance of a dynamic web page that includes content for an input data stream; 
 storing the content at a memory that is accessible to the processor; and 
 encoding, at the coder, the input data stream to generate an output data stream based on at least a portion of the content and based on at least a portion of the input data stream. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14 , further comprising transmitting the output data stream to a publishing destination. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 14 , further comprising, in response to a determination that particular content is unavailable at the memory, continuing encoding of the input data stream without the particular content. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the content comprises at least one of an overlay graphic, a title, or social interaction feedback. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the content is based on content associated with an input media stream. 
     
     
       19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor at a coder, cause the processor to:
 execute a headless browser and access an instance of a dynamic web page that includes content for an input data stream; and 
 store the content at a memory that is accessible to the processor and to the coder, 
 wherein the coder is configured to encode the input data stream and generate an output data stream based on at least a portion of the content and based on at least a portion of the input data stream. 
 
     
     
       20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein, in response to a determination that particular content is unavailable at the memory, the coder is configured to continue encoding of the input data stream without the particular content.